Over the past five years, the idea that computer programming – or “coding” – is the key to the future for both children and adults alike has become received wisdom in the United States. The aim of making computer science a “new basic” skill for all Americans has driven the formation of dozens of nonprofit organizations, coding schools and policy programs.

As the third annual Computer Science Education Week begins, it is worth taking a closer look at this recent coding craze. The Obama administration’s “Computer Science For All” initiative and the Trump administration’s new effort are both based on the idea that computer programming is not only a fun and exciting activity, but a necessary skill for the jobs of the future.

However, the American history of these education initiatives shows that their primary beneficiaries aren’t necessarily students or workers, but rather the influential tech companies that promote the programs in the first place. The current campaign to teach American kids to code may be the latest example of tech companies using concerns about education to achieve their own goals. This raises some important questions about who stands to gain the most from the recent computer science push.

As millions of dollars flow to technology companies in the name of education, they often bypass other major needs of U.S. schools. Technology in the classroom can’t solve the problems that budget cuts, large class sizes and low teacher salaries create. Worse still, new research is finding that contemporary tech-driven educational reforms may end up intensifying the problems they were trying to fix.

Who will benefit most from this new computer science push? History tells us that it may not be students.

However, the American history of these education initiatives shows that their primary beneficiaries aren’t necessarily students or workers, but rather the influential tech companies that promote the programs in the first place. The current campaign to teach American kids to code may be the latest example of tech companies using concerns about education to achieve their own goals. This raises some important questions about who stands to gain the most from the recent computer science push.

If you work for a shop that demands your primary audience for the code you write be the Lazy Indians at Amazon AWS servers where your code must have test projects and be managed code. SO much so it actually gets in the way of the effectiveness of your code being a benefit to the enterprise and the data model you are writing for. Then you're just creating Managed code for an Indian to take over. Your actual software will suck balls and not be efficient but man oh man can it pass those Test projects and make sure you're passing in correct data types. Any real meaningful business logic cant be managed code and will break the tests. Those Indians depend on you and your code sucking Balls, and they stay in high esteem of the Company execs.

AI is on the way?Sorry,you will no longer be needed.The fast food hamburger joint has an openingat the fry station.That's all you are really qualified for.You will probably burn yourself so you can get workmans comp/sick pay.

AI is already here and has been here. AI is great to spot defects in a production line in less than 1,000th of a millisecond and burst air to blow them out of the production line. AI is great for taking a thumbnail image and blow it up to a 300dpi 1200 X 1200 pixle image without losing clarity. AI is not Artificial Cognition. AI will never have organic conversation with humans, make more robots based on original designs, be in complex mobile structures capable of lasting longer than a smart phone, what 2 years tops!

And my final thought on AI and the Robot revolution. This time last year Amazon was featuring these crazy box robots that criss crossed at high speed across the Amazon warehouse floor fulfilling orders, pushing boxed in front of them.

Just last week, it was reported Amazon is working people to death to keep up with demand. Of course they didn't tell us in the story, but that has to be because all of those robots they so proudly displayed last year are already worn out from the rigorous abuse. They can't afford to retool a robot army every 6 months or a year even.

This was December of last year, a video of Amazon touting the end all robot revolution.

Now this was May of this year Amazon offering a 250K reward for a Robot design durable enough to last more than a week.Last year they also touted the criss crossing conveyor belts used in conjunction with those crawler robots for fulfillment. https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/10/amazon-robots-warehouse.html

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